Sponsoring parents of a employment-based green card holder married to a US citizen

[dave8775]

First, I would like to start by thanking you for the wonderful resources that you make available in your web site. Immigration can be a daunting thing with so many forms, priority dates, etc...

I have attempted to find the information I seek on your website, but I wasn't able to locate it and so would like to request your assistance.

I have an employment-based green card since 09/2007. I have older parents (79yo) who live in Portugal (which I am a citizen of) that I care for (some financial help and other assistance). They have been mostly in good health, thank God, but due to their age I would like to have them closer by so I can better care for them.

After reviewing much of the online information, I realize that I do not qualify to sponsor them as a greencard holder, however, I am engaged to be married on April 23, 2011 to a US citizen. I have been told by some co-workers that once married I would be able to sponsor my parents through my wife-to-be as long as I can show financial support (which I can). Unfortunately, I am unable to find any information regarding this online as I would like to be certain that is indeed possible.

If this is not possible, when I get married in April 2011, do I qualify to naturalize earlier (i.e. 3 years after GC was awarded instead of 5 since my GC was employment based, but I would now be married to US citizen)?

Thank you in advance for any information you can provide. Please link to official documents (govermentment forms, etc, where I can conclusively establish those facts).

Regards,
David

[BigJoe5]

Your friend is wrong. When it comes to immigration law advice, they usually are wrong. YOU must naturalize before you can file I-130's for your parents. After marrying a USC you may naturalize after a full three years of marriage. That means you could file an N-400 on or after April 24, 2014 under INA 319(a).
BUT
You got a greencard already on September X, 2007, so you can file an N-400 3 months shy of September X, 2012 under INA 316(a). Your wife will have nothing to do with your naturalization or in sponsoring your parents except maybe as a financial co-sponsor if needed and willing.

[dave8775]

Alternatives? extended visitor visas?

Thank you for the clarification. A part of me was hopeful that there might be a better way, but somehow based on what I had read I knew it wasn't going to be possible...

Anyways, I still need to care for them and short of me having to return to Portugal (not ideal) is there any other immigration/non-immigration way to have them close by? They won't need to work (I will support them), they don't need to study, they can just be here visiting me.

I will look into extended non-immigration visitor visas as an option for them to stay for an extended period of time each time until the date comes that I may sponsor them to reside.

If there is any other way in the interim you may know of, please advise. Investment (what would be the minimum capital)? DV-lottery (how long does it take if awareded)?

Much appreciated.

Regards,
David

[BigJoe5]

For mom and dad to come as investors (EB-5) and get greencards, it is a minimum of either one million dollars or a half million dollars PLUS substantial costs AND they must create 10 full time jobs for legal U.S. workers excluding themselves and family. If they go it on their own, it is probably not possible. There is a thing called a Regional Center that allows for a passive investment.

Non-immigrant investors E-1 or E-2 are hands on businesses run by the non-immigrants and require a "substantial investment" which is not defined so it is a bunch of guesswork.

They might be able to come for some visits but not the whole time and once you naturalize and file for them to immigrate they would not be allowed to come as tourists anymore. It is a tricky thing to deal with from the beginning.

In order to come as tourists, they need to establish that they plan to leave. If they are coming to "visit" their son who is on the road to naturalization soon AND he is their sole means of support.....

Well, do you see the difficulty in getting "tourist visas" in that case? What would you think if you were the Visa Officer?

[dave8775]

Extended visitor visa

Thanks again for the info. I understand that the main purpose of the tourist visa is to visit the country as a tourist, but I don't see why that would "disqualify" my parents even if their intent is to come spend an extended time with me and my soon-to-be wife, meet my future wife's family, get to know where we live, etc.

I understand that they would likely be declined a tourist Visa if they tried to come visit us in the US every year for an extended time period, but my Visa request would be for a single first-time 6-month period and a possible 6 month extension as allowed in that Visa category. The only previous times they came to visit me here is 10 and 6 years ago respectively.

I would like to understand why an immigration officer might consider "funny business" wanting to eventually have them come reside as soon as it is legally possible to do so (i.e. when I can sponsor them as a citizen).

What I am missing?

[dave8775]

Average time of the naturalization process?

Just out of curiosity, how do I find out how long it is taking to go through the naturalization process? That is from the time you can officially file to the time you're officially a naturalized citizen or at least have some citizen rights, such as sponsoring a parent to reside? Thanks again!

[BigJoe5]

I would like to understand why an immigration officer might consider "funny business" wanting to eventually have them come reside as soon as it is legally possible to do so (i.e. when I can sponsor them as a citizen).

What I am missing?

OK, you asked for it..................

The U.S. admits 1 to 1.2 million immigrants per year (more than all other nations combined). [USCIS gets over 6 million applications and petitions every year but that includes non-immigrant petitions (many with multiple beneficiaries) and other applications also, and CBP admits over 40 million non-immigrants per year, more than 2/3 are B-1/B-2 visitors for business or pleasure.]

Over 65% of immigrant admissions (greencard approvals) are a result of people adjusting status from within the U.S. About 5 % of those are employment based, mostly H and L non-immigrants who have a legal "dual intent" status, another 5% are asylee, Diversity Lottery, and refugee adjustments, and lastly, maybe another 5% other--like relief from an Immigration Judge, K and V nonimmigrant fiances, spouses and children of USC's and LPR's, or 245(i) penalty cases.

Almost all the rest are family based immigrants who made a lawful admission and applied either while still in a valid nonimmigrant status or were overstays. The vast majority are Immediate Relatives (IR's) of USC's who overstayed a tourist visa, some by many years. This statistical info is all available via public records but I know it from years working in government for INS/USCIS.

Given what the Visa Officer knows this underlying information and the fact that there is a 100% chance that someone will be lying to him everyday in the course of his work, he becomes VERY suspicious and cynical.

Just in your quite innocent post here you have revealed that it really is your intent to bring your parents over on tourist visas and support them here as long as you can. You were innocent and unaware that if you succeed in bringing them over as tourists that they could easily stay for good and after you naturalize, you can file for greencards for them. I'm sure that that friend of yours would have eventually told you about that option after your parents came to visit.

You do want them to immigrate. You plan on filing as soon as you are able. Those are noble intentions shared by MANY people. BUT they are colored by the actions of a huge number of people who came before you. The V.O.'s perspective is tainted by history and there is really nothing you can do to change his mind.

You are from Portugal, a country that, according to the CIA Factbook, is 86.7% Christian (84.5% Catholic), you probably have a strong custom of trying to do the right thing, which probably comes from your upbringing. Part of that is a need and desire to care for your parents BUT another part is an internal morality, in other words, a natural honesty. In yet other words, you are probably a bad liar and your parents (especially your mother) are probably worse liars. They will have grown up in even stricter times. The V.O. is stationed at one of the State Department's 2 Portugal offices and is likely well acquaited with the local customs.

A seasoned Visa Officer will surely get them to say something that would tend to disqualify them as mere tourists, like that they are going to the U.S. to "move in with our son", "he takes care of us", "he has a greencard", "he helps support us", "he is getting married (or he just got married)", "he will soon become a citizen", "he went to the U.S. years ago."....

The V.O. is thinking about YOUR current and future circumstances. He sees that it would probably be better for YOU to have mom and dad come live with you in the U.S. so you can continue to help them and it would be less expensive to maintain ONE home than TWO.

He sees that YOU will be eligible to naturalize soon and will be able to file I-130's and I-485's for mom and dad probably by Thanksgiving or Christmas 2012.

If he lets them come on tourist visas and even if they apply for extensions and got denied, they would be so close to being able to file for adjustment that even these nice people would probably overstay a few months because it would not prevent them from filing for adjustment as the IR parents of a USC simply because he gave them tourist visas that they only used one time to enter the U.S. lawfully. (Read Immigration and Nationality Act Sec 245(a))

Taken all together, that is a high probability of immigrant intent and a reason to deny a long-term B1/B-2 visa which is usually issued for 10 years.

Being from Portugal, your parents qualify for the visa waiver program (VWP) but that limits stays to 90 days. When traveling on the VWP, the hurdle is the CBP Officer at the port of entry.

Neither possession of a visa, nor meeting the basic requirements for traveling visa-free on the VWP, guarantees admission to the United States. As with most countries, the final determination of admissibility is made by immigration officials at the port of entry.

Visa-free travel is not appropriate for those who plan to study, work, or remain more than 90 days. Such travelers need visas. If an immigration official has reason to believe that a visa-free traveler is going to study, work, or remain longer than 90 days, or has misrepresented facts regarding his or her travel, the officer is authorized to refuse admission to the U.S. VWP entries are tracked in a computer database and exessive use of the VWP will be flagged for refusal. VWP waives the need to get a B-1/B-2 visa, but the "waiver" goes both ways. VWP participation requires a waiver on the part of the travelers also. They cannot see an Immigration Judge if refused admission EXCEPT for genuine Asylum seekers and they have to pass a credible fear interview first. Except in the most rare cases, they can't file for adjustment either. Parents would not qualify to file for adjustment as rare cases under current judicial precedent.

On the bright side, you will probably be eligible to file an N-400 in June/July 2012, and it is taking only 3 or 4 months from filing to Oath is most USCIS Offices. The day you naturalize, you will qualify to file I-130's for your parents (one for each). If you have the petition packets ready, you can just sign and copy your naturalization certificate and mail it right away. You need to send the individual petition packets together (in one larger envelope) in order to get them processed together as a family pack. When you apply for a U.S. passport, you have to submit the original certificate, so make copies first.

I don't want to disappoint you, just give you the facts as I see them.

You can discard everything I said and consult an attorney instead.